My First Year with Island Batik

I’ve only been an Island Batik Ambassador for 11 months, but I thought it would be fun to see all of my projects in one place. We have a blog hop coming up this month, and I have seen sneak peeks of some of the projects, My goodness, you have several weeks of drop dead gorgeous quilts coming up.

I was informed that I had been accepted in January last year. I can still remember how excited I was – what a rush. You can watch my first unboxing video here.

My first project was our February Mini Love Challenge. I made a wall hanging with my focus word for the year.

I also made a mini valentine for Galentine’s Day.

Our March challenge was called Try a Technique. I tried to make a shirt with some awesome rayon fabric. I was displeased with my results. Back to quilting for me.

Our April challenge was to make a modern project inspired by a vintage quilt. I used a modern dresden plate block and indulged my feather addiction in the quilting.

In May we made pillows. This pattern is a lot of fun.

The June challenge was to make a modern batik quilt. I combined improv curves with desperation and came up with this unusual piece. It still needs a little something.

For July’s secondary pattern challenge I designed this quilt. I still really like the pattern. I can see more areas to explore and develop it.

In August, for the Great Outdoors Blog Hop I designed this pattern to show off the large scale prints in my collection. I also created a quilt that will use up a bundle of fat quarters and leave little waste.

The September challenge was Starstruck. I adapted a pattern by Violet Craft and made this quilt. I’m very proud of it.

In October we had the Needle, Paper, Scissors challenge. I have a lot of work done on the very elaborate quilt I planned to do for October. Unfortunately, October was the start of a very wild ride for me. Relocating, business trips, and the start of the Christmas rush simplified my batik project. On the plus side, I have a big head start on something for next year.

November’s Challenge was Cozy Cabins. Isn’t this pattern awesome? It is graphic, gorgeous, and fast. You can get the pattern for free at Gotham Quilts. Unfortunately, I used two of my “forbidden fabrics” in this project. They were meant to be included in the January project. Whoops! A new storage system will be used in 2019.

The December challenge was Whimsical and Wonky. It doesn’t get much more whimsical than this cute little gnome. I’m so pleased with how this project pouch came together.

Dixie and Digger Dachshund were made for display in the Island Batik booth at Quilt Market.

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One responsibility that we have as ambassadors is to make Rep Samples. In each ambassador box we get a bundle of secret fabric. It is fabric for an upcoming release, and we aren’t allowed to share it for several months. We make a 12″ x 18″ kennel quilt. Sales reps for Island Batik bring the samples to shops to show off the fabric. When they are done, they are donated to animal shelters. Some of these pups have some swanky kennels until they find their forever homes.

I also did this quick little pillow earlier this week, just to get it out of my system, and also in an attempt to use up some more fabric. It is pink, because those are the colors I tend to use the least. Since then, I have caught all three of the men in my family sleeping on it. I guess they don’t mind pink as much as I thought they did.

My January project is assembled and waiting to be quilted this week. I can’t wait to share it with you! Between the amazing fabric collection I am using, and the fantastic pattern from Keaton Quilts, there was really no way I could go wrong.

Here is a little sneak peek. I started marking the center lines for quilting. I literally can’t wait to show it off.

The Getaway Blog Hop starts Jan 7th. There will be giveaways all over the place, so stay tuned!